DOHA: The government has begun handing over shops in Al Furjan Markets in remote areas to those who had won allotment through lottery in June.
Al Furjan (plural of Arabic word ‘fereej’ meaning area or locality) Markets are the brainchild of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.
They aim to provide shopping facilities to people living in remote areas of the country so they don’t have to rush to Doha to buy daily provisions.
The ministry is building 44 Al Furjan Markets across the country and they will in all have 645 shops.
Some 2,600 people had applied for allotment in the name of proprietorship companies registered in their names. The allottees had been chosen through lottery.
The ministry said in a statement yesterday that handing over of the shops had begun in Raudat Al Hammam and Al Qatifah.
It quoted many allottees as saying that the monthly rent of the shops (QR6,000) was low and affordable and the markets will go a long way in helping meet the shortage of shops.
One of the allottees, Ahlam Al Obaidly, said she was all set to open a grocery store in her shop in Al Qatifah.
Another allottee, Mubarak Al Qahtani, said the 44 Al Furjan Markets were not enough and the government should build more in other areas.
The ministry has entrusted the markets with Ezdan Real Estate Company and Al Waseef, a subsidiary of state-owned Barwa Real Estate Company, for shop allotment and management.
The allottees must sign rent contracts with either of the two companies.
The Peninsula
